SUPER CAR ???

[4MyChevelles]

Does your car have to have Yenko, Motion, Berger, etc. on it to be a Super Car ? or does any Big HP high revving Classic considered a Super Car

[WILMASBOYL78]

Rick, as far as I am concerned "super" is in the eye of the beholder. Most people feel that their cars are "special" or "super" or "great", because to them,they are. That's the way it should be viewed by anyone who is in the hobby for the right reasons. There aren't a lot of copo's and yenko's left, and the ones that are command big $$$$. I would venture to guess that the most folks who visit this site or become members don't own one of the rare vehicles. They are enthusiasts that share a common appreciation for a very special part of Americam automotive history. Besides, when your driving one those "super" cars you can't see the dealer logo on trunk from the front seat anyway! Drive what you have, enjoy it and welcome to the site.

Tom Williams

[Jeff Murphy]

[ QUOTE ]
Dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Chevrolet dealer built Supercars and COPO cars.



[/ QUOTE ]

The above quote is the basis on which Tom and Rob started the website. I think the definition as it stands works -- you had to know the secret handshake to get a COPO and the dealer built cars pushed the performance envelope beyond what you could get as an RPO. At some level it's about performance AND rarity.

However, since the site started it has morphed a bit, even recently adding a non-Chevrolet thread to recognize the varied interests of board members and the performance vehicles of other marques. But if you get down to it, it's Tom's site and he can define the universe of "Supercars" how he likes.

[WILMASBOYL78]

OK then I would appreciate a clarification from Tom on the subject of what defines Super. I was only trying to make someone new to the site feel welcome and share my thoughts on cars in general. By the way, I took my 70 L78 4spd for a ride to day and it was "super". If you have to have a copo or dealer hotrod to be a player on this site then I for one would like to know that.

Hope everyone has a SUPER day. Wilma

[Charley Lillard]

Anybody can play here it is just that The Clarys main focus is on the Chevrolet built Supercars. And you have to play nice.

[WILMASBOYL78]

This kinda of reminds me of grade school recess guess I'll just take my car and go home before I get in more trouble. Don't want to end up in muscle car detention.

[matt murphy]

Just my .02 cents worth here . . . In the 1950's, Zora Duntov, from Chevrolet, was quoted as saying "We have Sports Cars and we have Super Sports Cars . . ." He was talking about the Corvette SS show car at the time, but later the name Super Sport, became an option on just about every Chevrolet model in the 60's except the Corvette.

A lot of the COPO cars have been tagged as just that . . . A Super Sports Car or "SuperCar" for short. Not all COPO cars are Supercars . . . Remember, a COPO option was also police cars, taxi's, special painted cars or trucks, etc,; and some COPO options included weird options like spoilers, suspension pieces, trim items, etc. So, all COPOs are not Supercars.

But, the COPO options that included the Engine Options in conjunction with other special performance parts from the GM Parts Bins, are generally considered the "Supercars". Does that mean that a L78 Camaro or Chevelle isn't a Supercar, not really, but giving these special COPO cars a name wasn't easy, but like Zora said . . . there are Sports Cars, and then there are Super Sports Cars.

The SuperCar name seems to fit the best for these COPO cars, because they are one notch above the rest of the Super Sports in their given class of cars, either Camaro, Chevelle, Nova, etc. The SS models were the bad boys from Chevrolet, and the COPO High Performance Engine cars took it to the next level . . . thus the name Supercar . . .

By the way . . . as far as I can tell, this web site doesn't cater to only COPO cars. This web site caters to all Chevrolet High Performance Cars . . . and a big to the Clarys for their true devotion to these cars and this site . . .

[NEW]

Darn, that was well said, Matt!

NEW

[gemleeus]

hey, i really hope you don't take offense to what has been said to you, i myself have enjoyed talking with you here in the forums. the folks that run this site are correct in imo. the site was started on the basis of the yenko, berger, copos etc. etc. but that don't mean we are not welcome to join and enjoy the benefits of this site. the adminstrators just want to make sure things run as smooth possible for the good of all, ie: posting in the correct forums etc. etc. if you ask me the 02 berger you own is just as much a supercar as any.

[427TJ]

Perhaps another historical perspective would help clarify the term "Supercar." (See attached photo.) This is an original 1967 ad (before COPO Camaros, etc.) for the then-new 427 Camaro conversions being performed by Motion and sold through Baldwin Chevrolet. I think it's safe to say that this is where the term "Supercar" has its roots, at least in terms of how it's used on this site. Motion used the term "Supercar" to differentiate their 427 conversions from the already "super" SS 396/375 cars available from the factory. Hey, why drive a "super" car when you can drive a "Supercar." Purely a marketing tactic that worked well in this case.

(Wasn't there a kids show in the '60s called "Supercar"? I seem to remember that. Any old f_rts remember that?)

Bill